Elephant Riding in the Corbett National Park

Trek Essentials

Where: In the foothills of the Himalayas, South IndiaBest season: October is a cool season for riding elephantsBest sights: Tigers, jackal and amazing bird lifeRemember to bring: A good saddle – elephant riding is an uncomfortable businessWatch out for: Wild elephants are not for riding.

Where it’s At

The Corbett National Park is 200 sq. miles of parkland in the foothills of the Himalayas. It was established in 1936 and is India’s first National Park. Here you can ride on an elephant if you are daring!

The park is named after the famous British hunter Jim Corbett who was greatly revered by the local people for shooting man-eating tigers. About 20 people a year are still killed by tigers, but the tigers are close to extinction in India thanks to the efforts of 20th century British colonialist hunting for sport and for the fur trade.

Today the main aim of the park is to preserve the huge variety of wild life that resides here, including wild elephant, jackal, leopard and over 1,000 species of bird. It was from Corbett that a major effort to save the tiger was launched in 1973, called Project Tiger. As a result of that project, the total tiger population in India has doubled to about 4000, and 135 of which live in the Corbett National Park.